Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1887-07-22
Superstition A bout Children

From tho Chicago Current 0
& A superstition used to exist that q
child which did not cry when sprinklel
in baptism would not live long. LII the
west Of Scotland, according to James
Napier, it was considered unlucky to
name a child by any name before the
rite Of baptism was performed. When
children seemed prematurely smart it
was believed that they. would not live
long. Shakespeare puts this supersti-
ton, into the mouth of Richard Ill.
BulWer mentions the tradition concern
ting children born open handed, that
they will be liberal and big hearted. A
character in one of Dekker's plays says:
II am most wretched fellow; surely
some left handed priest christened me.
1 am SO unlunky." s.~..s
According to Irish and Scotch fairy
superstitions, the elves, though in the
main harmless, have the bad reputation
of stealing children from the cradle
and substitute for them changelings
who bear resemblance to the stolen in
fants, but are ugly little things and
never thrive. On such theft of a fe-
male infant, who is carried to fairyland
but in the course OF years returns to
her parents, James Hogg founded his
fine ballad of "Kilmeny" (Queen's
Wake.) In some parts of Scotland it is
a popular notion among the lower
classes that when child is for the first
time taken into the open air, the bearer
of it should give something to eat to the
first person met otherwise the child
will be unlucky. The gift is called
"the BARNS piece" When child was
taken from its mother, and carried out
side the bedroom for the first time after
it's birth, it was lucky to take it up
stairs, aud unlucky to take it down
stairs. It was not considered lucky to
carry baby into a neighbor's house
until the mother took it herself; and
this it Was unlucky for even her to do,
until she had been to church.
It was considered uu]ucky for chill
dren to walk backward "hile going on
an errand. It WAS deemed unlucl1y to
measure baby and if its nails were
cut before it wSs a year old, it would
turn out to be thief; it was unlucky
for a boy to wear trousers made on Fri
day, and to sweep dust over the feet of
girls would prevent them from getting
husbands. In Hindostan, when baby
sneezes, the mother snaps her thumb
and finger, and repeats aloud the name
Of one Of her gods. When a child casts
a tooth, in South Sweden, the tooth is
thrown into the fire. In Switzerland
it is carefully wrapped in paper, and
salt enclosed with it before it is thrown
into the fire. In Herrick's time it was
regarded as lucky omen to place a
knife near a sleeping child. Good
Friday and Easter Sunday were con-
sidered lucky days for changing the
caps of children.
In the west of England the fortunes
Of children are believed to be largely
regulated by the day of the week CD
which they are born:
'tMonday's child is fair of face,
Tuesdays child is full Of grace,
Wednesdays child is full of woe,
Thursdays child has far to 60,
Fridays child is loving and giving,
Saturdays child works hard for living,
And 4 child that is born on Christmas day,
Is fair and wise, good and gay"
Among some of the tribes in Africa
if two babies come to family st the
same time they think it dreadful
thing. Nobody except the family can
go into the tent where they were born
nor use any of the things in it. The
twins are not allowed to play with 9TH
er children, and the mother cannot talk
to one outside Of the family. This is
kept up for six years. If the babies live
to be six years old the restrictions are
removed and they are treated like other
children FRANK H. STANFFER.